Planar laser illumination module (PLIM) employing high-frequency modulation (HFM) of the laser drive currents and optical multplexing of the output laser beams

US7784695B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• METROLOGIC INSTRUMENTS, INC. · US

Inventors

• C. Harry Knowles · Moorestown, US
• Xiaoxun Zhu · Marlton, US
• Timothy Good · Blackwood, US
• Tao Xian · Readington, US
• Anatoly Kotlarsky · Holland, US
• Michael Veksland · Marlton, US
• Mark Hernandez · Bridgeton, US
• John Gardner · Mullica Hill, US
• Steven Essinger · Philadelphia, US
• Patrick Giordano · Glassboro, US
• Sean Philip Kearney · Marlton, US
• Mark Schmidt · Williamstown, US
• John A. Furlong · Woodbury, US
• Nicholas Ciarlante · Teaneck, US
• Yong Liu · Sunnyvale, US
• Jie Ren · Lo Wu, CN
• Xi Tao · Suzhou, CN
• JiBin Liu · Beijing, CN
• Ming Zhuo · Suzhou, CN
• Duane Ellis · Medford, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 30, 2007
• Grant date: Aug 31, 2010
• Expiry date: Mar 26, 2028

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06K2207/1012
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A planar laser illumination module (PLIM) including: (i) a laser illumination source driven preferably by high frequency modulated (HFM) diode current drive circuitry; (ii) a beam collimating optics disposed beyond the laser illumination source; (ii) an optical beam multiplexer (OMUX) device disposed beyond the collimating optics; and (iv) a planarizing-type illumination lens array disposed beyond the OMUX device, and arranged for generating a plurality of substantially planar coherence-reduced laser illumination beams (PLIBs) that form a composite substantially planar laser illumination beam (PLIB) having substantially reduced spatial/temporal coherence.